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Friday, April 25, 2014

After we left the library we were sort of turned around as to where we were on the base. We chose a direction and went off base to discover what was outside the gate. As it turned out, not much. But we ended up going out the Enterprise Gate. Had we continued to go downtown we could have seen the Boll Weevil Monument...perhaps another day.We circled around and headed back to Daleville and stopped at a McDonald's to see if Jim could get his laptop to connect to the internet. It worked! We had a cup of coffee and chocolate chip cookies...not a bad way to spend a half hour.Back on base we stopped at the commissary and boy did they screw up. Right out front, where it stops traffic is where the handicapped get to park. Wonderful for them but it backs up traffic while folks wait for parking spots. I jumped out and dashed into the store while Jim found a spot to park in the parking lot. Once home Jim got out three laptops and did who knows what for the remainder of the afternoon. I fed Boo at 1600 but we both skipped coffee. Around 1730 I packed up another load of laundry and my toiletries and headed to the laundry and bathhouse. The shower left a lot to be desired but I got my hair washed and shaved my legs LOLI had a salad of cucumber and avocado for supper. Jim defrosted some cooked brats and made a sandwich and had chips and pickle...TV viewing included some car shows and Elementary. While living in the eastern time zone we skipped watching the late shows because we went to bed at 2200. Still not crazy about this Sherlock show. Even though he's British, we Americans don't produce a mystery like the Brits do.FridayI'm not sure what Boo hears every morning around 0630 but as an alarm clock he's right on the money! Jim says maybe reveille, but why on earth would they make the campground get up so early? We are really, really out in the woods, about 8 miles from the exchange and commissary. Looks like a mostly cloudy day today and our high should reach the lower 80's

This little red head stopped by to say goodbye when we left Eglin...pretty, but not as pretty as my red head, Sonsearae!

Jim cleaned the ac vents this morning. We're using the ac more and more. How often do you clean yours? After making the bed and doing dishes we headed off to the library again. The morning has been misty so doing outside work was a no go.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Monday, I was up shortly before 0700 and the skies are clear and we have sunshine. Last night, in time for sunset, the sun came out and we could see the skies were clear to the northwest. I hope y'all had a wonderful Easter. For some this includes family dinners, Easter egg hunts and good times. For others it's a more religious celebration.We both did chores this morning. You know, all those little things that need to be done in daily life. I also stripped the bed and Jim took down our wifi booster antenna, rather useless since there's no free wifi here. The Air Force was taking advantage of of the clear skies and most of the day I heard jets flying overhead. Unfortunately they were also doing some bombing runs and Boo wasn't crazy about that.Jim grilled brats and onions and I made a salad for our lunch. Then vertigo set in and Jim took a nap.Jim dropped Netflix and upped our Verizon data plan. This being without wifi is the pits! On the other hand I'm doing a lot more reading...Tuesday was my day be under the weather. I'm battling an infection and I think I'm winning but I didn't sleep well last night and after Jim got up I went back to bed. Not sure I slept much but I did feel better when I got up.Jim made reservations for two more campgrounds so I think we're covered for the next month or so. On Wednesday we head to Ft Rucker, just west of Dothan Alabama. He also fueled up the truck for this journey.When he returned home he did more packing up. The drive won't be a long one so we don't have to hurry in the morning. I sure hate leaving this area...we both love the Emerald Coast and beaches and walking in the surf and watching the people and kids play in the water. The tacky souvenir shops are fun to pass an afternoon. And the food! Nothing beats fresh seafood...

We will miss the lovely beaches of the Emerald Coast, Florida in general and seeing Sonsearae and Chris so often.

We left Eglin AFB around 1130 after a trip to the dump station. Using the Co-pilot live app on the tablet we meandered the back roads of Florida and Alabama only hitting I-10 for 14 mile stretch. Some of the back roads we were on had no traffic to speak of. All the wooded areas were as green as could be and it turned into a lovely drive.We did pass quite a few plowed fields just laying fallow. Not sure when the planting season is but I think it's passed for some crops. Again we saw evidence of high rivers, creeks and standing water.We arrived at Ft Rucker, named after Confederate General Edmond Rucker, just before 1400. What a huge base! Very lovely with lots of trees. Of course we haven't seen all of it. I understand this is the Home of Army Aviation. We have seen some helicopters in the air.It didn't take long to set up and we both enjoyed our ritual cold beer while sitting outside. I think the temperature was around 80. We have 50 amp and electricity but no sewer. I can do laundry at the bath house for a dollar to wash, dryers are $1.75 to dry but I can bring the clothes home to dry! No WiFi, so we're using our phones, one of us more than the other. Since we have to pay for our data I'm not online as much as I used to be.For dinner last night Jim had some chicken dumplings and strawberry shortcake. I had a salad of avocado and cucumbers. Some TV watching rounded out the evening.Thursday I was up at 0630, as I was laying there thinking about getting up Boo heard a clank and barked his fool head off! I kicked him out of bed and got up with him. He wanted to get back in bed with Jim but I carried him down and shut the bedroom door. Jim went back to sleep and didn't get up until 0800.After breakfast I dressed, made the bed and walked to the laundry with a load of clothes. The man who was in there had taken all 4 machines so I had to wait. Finally got a machine and when it was finished I brought the clean clothes home to dry in our dryer.We headed out to explore the base..found the exchange and had a bite to eat. Jim had Popeye's and I chose a veggie sandwich at Subway. The commissary is in the same area. We'll catch that before heading home.We are now at the base library where we can use the free WiFi. But apparently Jim cannot get online with the older laptop. We're trying to update and download what we can to save our phone data usage.I think that's about everything from here.

What magazines do you like to read? Do you read about traveling? Cooking? Crafting? The RV life maybe...cars, trucks, trailers. You name it they have a magazine for it. So you must like one or two, right?We get several magazines, Escapees, it's free because we're members. We subscribe to Texas Highways, because we're sort of Texans and it's interesting to read about our adopted state. I know we learn from it and hope to travel to some of the areas and explore this great state.In the past I've subscribed to cooking or food magazines because it interests me. Jim says we shouldn't get magazines because we have to pay for them to be shipped to us. I don't mind the expense, it's not like we get mail delivered daily or weekly. When we're traveling it's more like every 4 to 6 weeks.Recently I've started getting magazines from Stampington and Company. Their magazines come out quarterly and are visually stunning and provide hours of reading. Today I finished Somerset Life and I just had to let y'all know how much I enjoyed it. If you're the least bit crafty you need to find one of their publications and just be prepared to while away an afternoon or two or three thumbing through these magazines. There are different titles for different areas of life so there's bound to be one that will inspire you. Cooking, jewelry making, sewing, card making, journaling....the list is long. If you find yourself in a Barnes and Nobles you can find them in the magazine section of the store. Most every bookstore sell them. Oh, they also cost quite a bit (which is why I subscribe) so sit down and enjoy it for free in the store! They're printed on quality paper and it's very difficult throwing one away. I always think about using some of the pictures for cards! When I finally decide to give one up I try to find places to leave them so others can enjoy them.Our lovely daughter, Sonsearae, also sends me her magazines when she's done with them so we usually have quite a few to while away a lazy afternoon.

Some of you know that I'm 'trying' to eat healthy. I'm striving for a WFPBOF diet. That stands for Whole Food, Plant Based, Oil Free. Basically I'm doing this for my health. For more years than I care to count I've been pre diabetic, pre hypertension and borderline high cholesterol. So, I've read about these conditions and rather than take medicine (so far I've avoided it) I'm doing it with diet.In the 80's when I first started having symptoms of menopause (peri menopause if you will) I started this journey with my food changes. I found out I also had cholesterol issues. The doctor wanted me on Lipitor and I used up the samples and when I went to get my prescription filled I balked at the cost and said no....so I gave up Dairy....This was a big deal for me as I loved cheese and I'm sure I ate it daily. Once I left childhood behind I always drank whole milk, with every meal. It was something I didn't have as a child. Because Soy was supposed to help (contains plant estrogen's) with my change of life symptoms I used it for everyday drinking and baking. I'm not sure I ever really liked it and I've since given it up for some of the newer concoctions out there. I've finally settled on Coconut milk. But I don't drink it, water is what I mostly drink. I just use it for cooking and I've found I like the coconut creamer in my coffee.Around this time I ate less beef, having it only two or three times a month. Slowly as the years passed and I learned more about what is in our meat I ate less and less chicken and pork, giving up beef altogether. Then I gave up all animal products.I grew up in the Midwest and sausage was a favorite of mine...I love hot dogs! and Brats and breakfast sausage etc, etc, etc...Today our meat supply is full of antibiotics and hormones and I don't think anyone should eat them. But this is a personal choice and I've tried to stay away from meat.At home I do fairly well. Sometimes it's a pain in the butt to stick with whole foods when canned soup is tasty and bags of chips call my name. But I do make an effort to keep the veggies I like to eat in the house so I'm not tempted. But I do fall off the wagon!Like yesterday...while shopping I bought two slices of chocolate cake in the bakery department. I've been wanting some chocolate cake and boy was it good! I also have a problem with salty foods like potato chips, popcorn and other salty snacks. I don't buy them for myself very often. But when I do I can indulge myself to the point of gluttony. And when we eat out I indulge. I always tell myself not to but once I see the menu I'm lost. Which is why you see me blog about my food....of course the beer doesn't help either. But it's soooo good!Now I'm trying essential oils to see if they will help. Only time will tell.So how am I doing? I'm still pre diabetic, pre hypertensive and my cholesterol is still borderline....I guess I'm not perfect. I can test my blood pressure at home. But I have to rely on clinics for blood work to find out how I'm doing with glucose and cholesterol. I'll have that checked when I get back to Texas this winter

Monday, April 21, 2014

Thursday we had errands to run and we headed out around 1000. Our first stop was the Exchange to see if I could get a haircut...done! I got a real nice short haircut and we're both pleased with it. You see, when we travel it can be difficult to find a good hairdresser. You just take a chance and hope for the best.

By this time we were both hungry so we headed to Santa Rosa Beach and Stinky's Fish Camp. Sonsearae told us we should check it out and boy was she right! We want to move to that neighborhood so we could eat there everyday! Let's just say it's as fattening and as delicious as the food in New Orleans....we may go back before we leave the area.

Next stop wasn't planned but I've been wanting a new pair of walking shoes and Destin Commons has a New Balance outlet store. Done! found a pair for less than $50...Oh, we also made a stop at PetSmart for puppy pads, since I can't do laundry here, the pads are needed.

We were going to make another stop at the commissary but since we over ate, all we wanted at this point was to go home, so we did.Not sure when the rain started but it was raining when we went to bed.It rained all night! Sometimes it was torrential and the wind really didn't let up much. When I got up Friday I checked the Weather Channel on my phone and the shape of this storm looked like a tropical storm, typical comma shape. It came up our of the gulf and pelted us all night and almost all day.After breakfast, doing the dishes and making the bed we decided to go to Barnes and Nobles...it's what we do when it rains. Besides perusing all the magazines and books, you can have a cup of coffee and log onto their website. We took advantage of this and updated our phones and I updated a couple apps on my iPad. I used a rebate and got another cookbook, Happy Herbivore light and lean by Lindsay S. Nixon. If you haven't seen her cookbooks they're simple recipes and usually just for two people. Perfect for us!And the rain continued....when we left the book store we headed out looking for a place to have lunch and didn't know what to have until we spotted an Olive Garden. Perfect for this chilly, rainy day....soup and salad. And the rain continued.....by this time we'd had enough of dashing in and out of buildings so we just headed home. Jim took a nap and when he got up the rain had stopped. The even tried to come out! Still had a lot of wind but at least the road started to dry. Of course the puddles are huge!When we went to bed Friday evening one corner of our duvet was wet. Apparently with the rain and wind, water was forced in the small window. Rats! So I pulled it off the bed and remade it with quilts.Friday night was a noisy one! The rain had passed but the wind stay with us all night. Even when I got up it was still blowing 10-15 miles and hour.But it wasn't raining and that's a good thing!We had a lazy morning and before long Sonsearae let us know they were on the way to visit. We made arrangements to meet them at Acme Oyster house at Baytowne Wharf. We really didn't think about the fact that it's Saturday, on an island. Traffic was really heavy and we were a wee bit late, but no worries as they had secured a table and had some appetisers before we got there. Chris' daughter Robin joined us (she lives up the road in Crestview). This restaurant is a New Orleans tradition. I think I read they have five of them and four are in Louisiana. Jim had a roast beef po-boy, fries and an order of broiled oysters. I had a bowl of seafood gumbo. Just like being back in N'Awlins! Of course we both had Abita beers...After all this good food we walked down the dock and around the shops at the Wharf. Then we split up and met them after they checked into their hotel. There are shops there and we wandered in and out of a few. The guys usually found some place to sit.Soon it was time to say goodbye. We drove a short distance to Starbucks and had some coffee and then headed home. It's been wonderful seeing so much of Sonsearae and Chris this past year or so as we've stayed put. But it's time to move on....Easter Sunday started cold and cloudy but at least the wind has died down. I slept a little later, getting up at 0740....Jim didn't get up until 0930. Sure hope the sun comes out today to warm us up. The temperature is in the upper 50's. Despite this chilly start I've seen half a dozen boats zipping around in the bayMade a pasta dish for our midday meal and while it was tasty I won't be making it again. It was one of those cook everything in the same pot and I'm sure I did something wrong because the spaghetti was clumped and stuck together. Ended up tossing most of it.After I cleaned up the kitchen we headed to the grocery store. I know today is Easter but I was truly surprised to find Publix closed. So we went to Winn-Dixie and for some reason we bought three loaves of bread, two packages of English muffins and some rolls for Jim's brats. When they have bogo's how can you pass up buying two for the price of one?This day has been cloudy and overcast. The forecaster lied! It never did warm up ....

Friday, April 18, 2014

I've gone oily! I recently started delving into the world of Young Living essential oils, and I'm totally hooked. I diffuse oils daily and Jim and I enjoy the wonderful aromas that waft though the house. Some help with mood, some help with allergies. Some are just because they smell good and lift my spirits! I'm learning more and more about how essential oils can help with energy, hormonal balance, allergies, and so much more. This is going to be a fun adventure! I hope you'll join me, Live Younger with Linda on Facebook!

Multi-Purpose Spray CleanerChoose lemon, tea tree, eucalyptus or lavender essential oil to create a multi-use cleaner that will purify your home with fresh, sweet and wholesome scent.Ingredients2 cups water 1/2 teaspoon sodium borate 1/4 teaspoon liquid castile soap 36 drops essential oil (recommended: lemon, tea tree, eucalyptus or lavender) DirectionsCombine ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake before use.Lavender essential oil packs a powerful scent, but it is also well-known for its antimicrobial, antifungal, and antibacterial propertiesOf course if you'd rather buy a ready to use product Young Living's Thieves Household Cleaner is availableAlthough essential oils are all natural, use them with caution. As most essential oils are very concentrated, they should be diluted using a carrier oil as a base. Please do your own research for using essential oils internally, as some can cause harm. Young Living has theraputic essential oils and can be ingested. Keep them out of reach of children or pets. Additionally, many essential oils are photosensitive and heat-sensitive and are best stored in a cool, dark place. That's why they should come in a dark, glass jar.If you would like to purchase any of the oils mentioned today just click on this link. If you'd like the Thieves household cleaner it can also be found there.If you have any questions please leave a comment or email me, I'd be happy to help

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

We left Panama City Beach around 1115 this morning and the drive was an easy one. We took some back roads that had very little traffic and arrived at 1300. We're staying at a FamCamp, Postl Point on Eglin AFB. We've been here before and we like this campground on the bay. We have 50 amp and electric but no sewer. There's another FamCamp over in the woods where you can enjoy full hook ups. But it is laid out like every campground whereas here at Postl Point the sites are willy nilly!

It didn't take us long to set up but we discovered we don't have internet. Nothing in the area so we're using our phones and may not be online as much as I'm used to!

our view

This evening we took Boo for a walk and I was able to take some pictures that I hope you enjoy.

wildflowers

Osprey

We saw several Osprey flying over the water. They seemed to be flying for the joy of it. Not one got near the water for fish.

clear water at the beach

Green Heron

The rain that passed through the Panhandle a couple days ago left a lot of standing water here. As we traveled this way we saw a lot of full rivers and creeks with standing water on both sides of the roads.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

We've had some beautiful weather this past week. After the rains passed through, the cooler temperatures were great for sleeping and our days got up into the 70's. Each day saw this high creeping up and yesterday it was about 78 degrees. As you can see from these pictures a lot of folks took advantage of this and spent time at the local beaches.

It's still Spring Break and we marveled at all the 'white skinned' folks getting burned. I suppose it's a badge of honor for bragging rights when they get back home.

Jim was down and out for a couple days. Vertigo kept him sleeping and just not moving. Not much you can do about it but let it pass. I made a run to Sam's Club and picked up some groceries and household items. If you have room to store stuff it can be a savings to shop there.

Yesterday we also went to Pier Park the local outdoor mall and tourist attraction. After being cooped up Jim was ready to get out in the world! This mall is a large walking mall and we walked from one end to the other. Stopped in at Panera Bread for some lunch. I had a Greek Salad while Jim had half a sandwich and a small Greek Salad. Of course he got a strawberry smoothie to drink and I had an iced chai latte.

After lunch we walked back to the truck and then drove down the beach, then back up...stopping at Schooners to have a cold drink and sit overlooking the gulf. The breeze was wonderful! This time of year is perfect for strolling the beach, the water is still a bit chilly for us.

After this restful stop we drove to St Andrews State Park. This place was full of locals! So nice to see full parking lots and residents taking advantage of this lovely park. The pictures you see here are from one of the beaches. As you can see everyone was enjoying the sun and water.

Last night we watched G I Joe on Netflix and enjoyed a bowl of popcorn. I think it was the first time this year we've had popcorn! This is not good!! I say we should have a weekly date, movie and popcorn...what do you think?

Saturday, April 5, 2014

The past couple days have been wonderful! The weather has been perfect, now if we could get it to stay this way until our stay is over we'd be really happy!

Thursday Jim wanted to go to Hobby Lobby and check out Historic St Andrews. So once I remade the bed with clean sheets and did the dishes we were off. We made our purchases at Hobby Lobby then drove the short distance to St Andrews. It's on the Bay and it was fun walking around the marina and small town.

Then we stopped for lunch at Gracie Rae Bar and Grill, part of the Shrimp Boat and sat overlooking the bay watching the gulls, cormorants and pelicans. It was a beautiful day to be sitting outside drinking cold beer and eating seafood.

When we finally tore ourselves away from this tranquil setting Jim decided we needed another stop to 'check' on something....The Verizon store is a dangerous place. We checked on getting me a new phone, which we did...I now have a Droid Maxx like Jim's and apparently Chris, our son in law. We did lose our unlimited data plan (which is why I was keeping my old Droid) and our monthly bill goes up about eight bucks.

After about an hour we left with my new phone, a car docking station, screen protectors and a hands free blue tooth thingy in red. I lost all my pictures because Verizon doesn't think it's important to be able to transfer them to a new phone! There's a slight learning curve and I'm getting the hang of using this phone. It's a wee bit bigger and sensitive to touch.

Friday was another glorious day! We didn't go anywhere. Just did some cleaning and normal chores. Cooking (me) and grilling (Jim). We even ate outside because it was so nice.

We went for a walk when we finished out afternoon coffee. As I think I mentioned we are on a wetlands but we sloshed our way through the puddles and walked down to the bay. Boo was having a good time with all the new smells.

On the way back we picked up a toy football and tossed it for Boo to chase. It was almost to large for his mouth but he finally managed to pick it up and it was funny watching him march with it!

Watched an HBO (free weekend on Direct TV) movie last night and went to bed by 2230.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

What is it about time and how it affects your body? I don't mean aging that's a whole other problem...we expect the wrinkles and sagging skin because we've seen our parents go through it.I mean time zones and daylight savings time. Why does it alter our inner clocks so much? It shouldn't matter what the clock on the wall says. Get up when you wake up, go to bed when you're tired. We passed into the central time zone yesterday and driving can wear you out. Our trip wasn't all that long, just over 100 miles. But we were both ready for bed early. Had our showers and got into our pajamas so we could watch the NCIS shows last night (1900/2000). Jim was bushed and headed to bed around 2230 and I followed 30 minutes later. Now I realize this is later using the eastern time zone our bodies are used to. BUT!I was up at 0430!!! and Jim got up at 0515!!! He never gets up that early....he did say he slept well, as did I...but why did our inner clocks want us out of bed so early?Time is an odd thing...we don't have to be up at any particular time and certainly not that early.I did have all my morning chores done before 0800 and Jim got the rig washed by then too. He then shaved and we headed out. Our first stop was the base so we could extend out stay but reservations wasn't open yet. But at least they know of our plans. Then we hit the Exchange for couple items.I had mentioned Starbucks before we headed out and Jim found one at Pier Park although he didn't realize it at the time. He just talks to his phone and follows Ethyl's (GPS) directions. We're driving and driving and I asked if we were going to Pier Park and he said no...Any hoo that's where we ended up...we got us some coffee and cinnamon crumb cake. Had to wait in line to get it. Spring break is upon us and everyone was wanting hot coffee to warm up. You see all the tourists were wearing shorts and short sleeves. I guess they were waiting for the sun to come out. It was foggy and overcast!After we finished our cake we took our coffee and strolled the mall down to Front Beach Road, stopping in shops and looking at menus. Then turned around and strolled back on the other side to do the same thing making our way back to Starbucks. This part of the mall is all about tourists. The rest of the mall has regular shopping like department stores etc. I'm sure we'll go back because we've extended our stay here and leave the 15th.We had one more stop at Publix for groceries and I found it funny that it wasn't even noon! Once we got home and I got everything put away Jim decided he needed a nap.That's been our day so far....

After our afternoon coffee we took Boo for a walk but couldn't go very far because of the wet conditions. Behind us is a wetlands area and because of the rain recently the path was a bit mushy.

So we walked back and turned Boo loose in the dog park. All he wanted to do was sniff and pee! We found a tennis ball and played keep away for a bit until we got bored and then we came home. Now he's passed out in his bed

Since we ate lunch at different times I don't think we'll have dinner...and I'm really beginning to feel worn out...

After a dismal, foggy start to our day the sun finally cleared away the clouds and it warmed up to the mid 70's....it's nice wearing shorts again.

Have you noticed the crosses on the pine trees? Happens before Easter every year...

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Thursday morning we just hung out at home. Sonsearae joined us after her work morning and she had already had lunch so she brought potatoes and Brussels Sprouts for our dinner. She also brought the Tuscan Oil I mentioned in my last post...We had a nice afternoon, the weather was good with sunshine. After we had some coffee it was time to prepare dinner. Sonsearae cleaned and cut up the potatoes and sprouts, then dressed them with the oil and popped them in the oven to roast. I cut up some cucumbers and tomatoes and used the Lemon balsamic vinegar to dress them. We had a wonderful dinner! Not much left over and we let her take that home for her lunch the next day.Friday the rains came....and I don't think we left the house for 24 hours! Light rain, torrential rain and then more rain. Sonsearae worked Friday morning then she drove over to Lake City to spend the weekend with Chris. We were on our own! LOLSaturday when all the yucky weather had passed and we could see blue patches in the sky we decided to visit Ochlockonee State Park. Did you know they have white squirrels? We took Boo and we explored and walked and just enjoyed being outside. We drove around the campgound and it's doable for our rig.Sunday is a memory...Monday Sonsearae joined us again after work for lunch. I made Pea soup and herb bread. She and I walked around city park while Jim washed the truck. This was our last visit with her until Saturday when she and Chris will join us in Panama City Beach.Today we left Sopchoppy around noon and drove about 110 miles to Panama City Beach. And into the Central Time Zone. We're staying at a Navy campground. It's fairly close to the Gulf and the price is right!We arrived around 1430 and it didn't take long to set up. Kinda like riding a bike, you don't forget how even if you parked for over a year!The temperature was 74 when I finally checked at 1600...had me some coffee and you know what? I think I'm going to enjoy our stay here. Might even extend and stay two weeks!Spring is in the air! Sure hope it's warming up where you live.